We carried out an announced inspection of the service on 19 January 2016. Right at home (Nottingham South) is a domiciliary care service which provides personal care and support to people in their own home across the UK.

There was a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC). A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People felt safe and were supported by staff who knew how to keep them safe and understood their responsibilities to protect people from the risk of abuse. Risks to people’s health and safety were managed, but plans in place to identify and reduce the risk to people’s safety did not always contain sufficient detail to inform staff how they should help prevent the risk. There were sufficient numbers of staff to meet people’s care needs and staff were recruited safely. People did not receive the level of support they required to safely manage their medicines.

People were supported by staff who received appropriate induction, training, supervision and a yearly appraisal. Staff were fully supported by management. People’s rights were protected under the Mental Capacity Act 2005. People received the assistance they required to have enough to eat and drink. External professionals were involved in people’s care as appropriate.

People were treated with kindness and compassion and spoke highly of the staff. People reported positive and caring relationships had been developed between themselves and the staff. People felt able to contribute to decisions about their care and were involved in the planning and reviewing of their care and how they wanted their care delivered. People were treated with dignity and respect by staff who understood the importance of this.

People received the care they needed and staff were aware of the support each person required. Care records were written in a person centred way that focused on people’s wishes and respected their views. Care plans provided information for staff so people could receive personalised care. A complaints process was in place and people felt able to make a complaint and felt staff would respond in a timely manner.

The service prompted a positive culture that was person centred, inclusive and open. People and their relatives described communication with the service as excellent and good. Staff felt supported by the management. All staff felt the registered manager was approachable and listened to their views or concerns. People were encouraged to share their experience about the service and feedback on these experiences. There were a number of quality assurance processes in place that regularly assessed the quality and effectiveness of the support provided.